As You Like It
by WillowSioui
Summary: Set Post-Malloreon. Follow the children of all of our favorite characters in a grand tale of love, friendship, hate and betrayal! Will love's labour be lost? Or will it all be for the greater good? Rating may change.
1. Khaeran

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own the Malloreon/Belgariad in any way; this belongs to David Eddings. I do, however, own the OC and the plot.**

**A/N:**** This is set six years after the end of the Malloreon. At this point, the Malloreon took 7 years, and at the end Prince (King) Kheva is 13. My story is six years AFTER that, so this puts him around 19. 5382-5375=7 years from beginning to end of Malloreon 6+7=13 end of Malloreon 13+6=19 Where My story is REFERENCE: .**

Prince Khaeran sits on the rooftop of a church, looking down at the city below. He sighs happily, and looks down at the satchel bag he is holding, opening it just enough to peek at all of the stolen goods inside. Smiling to himself, he closes the bag once more and stands up slinging the bag over his head, letting it rest upon his hip. Khaeran leans over the edge of the church and notices the overhang from the roof of a building close by, and backs up a few paces, then runs to the edge of the roof and pushes himself forwards with his legs, flying through the air and rolling into a crouch on the roof of the next building. He then stands upright, continuing his run across the tiled rooftops, jumping from building to building. Smiling to himself as the air flows through his shoulder-length ebony hair; he flings himself down to a bar above the street below, grabbing hold of it with fingerless gloves, and swings onto the cobblestones below. Straightening up, he dusts off his black leather vest, and looks around the street. There are people mulling about in the growing evening air, trying to finish up bargains sparked with Drasnian shopkeepers.

The prince looks to his right to see his reflection in a full-body mirror, and cannot help but smile at what he sees. Standing in the reflection is a lean but fit young man, with his black hair falling about his shoulders. His hazel eyes glisten with the usual Drasnian mischief and intelligence. His leather vest, pants and knee-height boots, all black, and shiny with wear, and his white under-shirt is dirty, especially around its long sleeves. The worn brown-leather satchel hangs from his shoulder, sitting nicely upon his hip. Flashing a brilliant smile, Khaeran starts to walk towards the palace of the Drasnian King, Kheva, his second cousin. He makes his way through the city, stealing an apple or a piece of jewelry as he does so. Finally reaching the gates of the palace, he nods at the guards that are saluting him, and takes a bite into his apple. Once inside the palace, he notices the King speaking in hushed tones with a few city officials. The officials then bow deeply, but Khaeran cannot help but sense a bit of irony within the bows themselves. The officials then excuse themselves and brush past the prince. Khaeran looks towards a very tired-looking King.

"Having fun with your Lordly duties, Kheva?" The young king looks towards his cousin and scowls, and then runs a hand through his soft black hair, offering him a wan smile. Khaeran decides to push himself off of a wall that he had been leaning against, and walks up to his cousin, patting his shoulder. The two turn and start to walk through the seemingly empty halls of the palace when Kheva looks towards his companion.

"Have you heard anything from your father, Khae? He has been gone far too long for my liking…" Khaeran laughs giddily, chucking his apple core into a clay pot, causing Kheva to frown again.

"Kheva, my dear cousin, if you let my father's antics worry you, then you will become old far before your time!" This causes a smile to make its way onto Kheva's face for a brief moment, until he frowns once more.

"He is wearing a hole in my treasury, Khaeran…why is he doing that? He has more money than _I_ do!" The two then laugh softly, until they end up in a garden within the palace walls. Khaeran sighs dramatically and looks up to the sky, squinting in the bright sunlight.

"Kheva, I am needing to leave for a while. There is someone that I need to see." Kheva looks at his companion as if he doesn't believe him, but ends up massaging his temples and making a hand gesture as to give him leave. Khaeran smiles happily and scurries up a tree, vaulting over the wall of the garden and out of sight.

Once out of the palace grounds, Khaeran starts to make his way into through a field and towards the stables. Once inside, he pats an ebony stallion on the neck, whispering softly to it and digging an apple out of his satchel, and handing it to the horse. As the horse eats the apple and the stable hands saddle the horse, he looks around the stables and breathes in the scent.

"Y'estran." The now-saddled horse slowly walks towards him and nuzzles his shoulder. Khaeran smiles and mounts the horse, pulling the reins and leading out of the stable and out into the field, the horse starting off at a canter. Khaeran laughs and pulls back on the reins, causing the horse to slow to a trot, much to the horses' displeasure. "Y'estran, you will end up tiring yourself out if you try to go that fast too soon!"

The prince and the stallion continue their way through the Drasnian countryside, and Khaeran can see the edges of a forest coming into view. Humming softly to himself, Khaeran cocks his head to the side as he pushes Y'estran into a canter and the horse seems pleased enough to speed up halfway, almost to a gallop. Khaeran chuckles and allows his horse to gallop the rest of the way towards the trees. As they start to actually get into the forest, however, he slows down to a walk, the horse snorting. Khaeran keeps his eyes to the trees, and finally stops the Y'estran when he sees movement within them. Slowly dismounting his horse, he ties the reins to a tree, and cautiously walks out into a clearing. Suddenly, Khaeran is on the ground with somebody small on top of him, with a knife at the base of his neck. Just as suddenly as the attack, he can feel the person get off of him, and so he sits up slowly, and looking up.

The sight that lays ahead of him is a small and willowy woman, with luminous blue eyes and softly curled blonde hair that falls halfway down her back. She is wearing a small, dirty blue dress that is ripped near the hem. Her feet are bare and the dagger she holds is dull and not shiny in the least bit. Khaeran slowly stands up and reaches into his satchel, the girl jabbing the dagger a little closer to him. He smiles gently and pulls out an apple, handing it to her. The girl smiles suddenly, dropping the dagger and grasping the apple, taking a small bite out of it and giggling slightly. She looks up to Khaeran and laughs suddenly.

"Just joking. I'd never hurt you. How'd you know that I'm hiding out here?" Khaeran shrugs his shoulders, telling her that he has his ways. He then cocks his head to the side and blinks a few times.

"What's with the dress, Ryiah?" Ryiah laughs at his surprise and shrugs her thin shoulders.

"Got caught up trying to fix something one of my courtesan friends had messed up. How's the 'Princing' going?"

"How's the 'Thieving' going?" The both of them laugh and then sit down to talk to each other about how the Khaeran will be accompanying Kheva to Riva on a business trip. Khaeran shrugs and tells her that she is welcome, as long as she doesn't steal _too_ much from the Rivan people.

"They are crazy, I swear!" Ryiah laughs softly and stands up.

"I should get ready, then!"

"Open your eyes!" Khaeran opens his eyes to gape at what he is looking at. Ryiah is standing in front of him, in a soft pink, silken dress that flows across her (usually hidden) curves. Her hair is done up in an intricate design, with one curled strand falling over her shoulder and down her front. She is wearing a bit of jewelry and has just a _touch_ of makeup, enhancing her golden beauty. Queen Porren walks out from behind Ryiah.

"You can shut your mouth now, Khaeran; you're going to end up swallowing a fly!" Both girls start to laugh at the now blushing and flustered Khaeran. The Queen opens the door to her room and Kheva walks in, smiling broadly and taking one of Ryiah's hands and spinning her around. Ryiah giggles and Khaeran cannot help but feel a pang of jealousy, even though he doesn't know why.

"You look lovely, my dear!" Ryiah smiles and thanks him, seeming to glow from the attention that is being given. Khaeran stands up suddenly and stretches his arms into the air, making a show of himself yawning.

"Well, my friends and Aunty, we must go now, the ship awaits!"

**Review, please! What do you think so far? Long review loved very much!**

**~R**


	2. Arrivals in Riva

Disclaimer: I do not own the Malloreon/Belgariad in any way; this belongs to David Eddings. I do, however, own the OC and the plot.

**A/N:**** This is set six years after the end of the Malloreon. At this point, the Malloreon took 7 years, and at the end Prince (King) Kheva is 13. My story is six years AFTER that, so this puts him around 19. 5382-5375=7 years from beginning to end of Malloreon 6+7=13 end of Malloreon 13+6=19 Where my story is**.

There is cheering from the Riva docks, and Prince Khaeran shakes his head, a small smile touching his lips. He is seated on the edge of the boat, one of his legs swinging off the side of the boat as he hums a tune to himself. The wind rushes through his ebony hair and he notices Geran standing behind his parents Belgarion and C'nedra, who is visibly very pregnant. Beside Geran is his little sister Belderan, who is beaming in her soft green dress. Turning his head as Kheva walks up to him, Khaeran laughs happily and points with his thumb over his shoulder to where Belderan is.

"Your lady awaits you!" Kheva shudders with a groan, and hits Khaeran playfully in the arm, but Khaeran nearly falls off of the boat, making the both of them laugh. The ship finally stops, and the crew slowly lowers the plank towards the docks. Still laughing, Kheva and Khaeran make their way down the plank, and Belderan pushes Geran aside, throwing her arms around Kheva's neck and hiding her face in the crook of his neck. Khaeran tries his hardest not to laugh, and Kheva looks uncomfortable as he tries his hardest to push the princess away from himself. Khaeran turns his gaze to the plank where his aunty, Porren, and Ryiah walk down. Porren is beautiful in her subtle colours of grey and dusty rose, and Ryiah looks stunning in her gown of soft pink silks. Kheva politely detaches Belderan from himself, and raises a hand to both Porren and Ryiah. Both ladies take his hands, and take the last step down to the docks. Belgarion steps forwards, embracing the young King, his cousin and the Queen Mother.

"Thank you all for coming, we truly appreciate it." Porren smiles sweetly at him, and graciously takes his arm.

"Of course we would come for little Belderan's coming out party…how could we _not_?" Khaeran mocks Porren as they start to walk, much to the amusement of Kheva, Ryiah and Geran. Belderan walks as closely to Kheva as she possibly can, but he does not seem to notice her, and instead places an arm around Ryiah's shoulders. The little red-headed princess glares at this, but says nothing. The four of them continue to walk until they reach the Citadel, then they part ways with the King of Riva, his Queen and Queen Mother Porren. They walk around the edge of the Citadel, talking and laughing as they do, until they reach the training grounds. Khaeran leans against the low wooden fence that surround the training grounds, and smiles from ear to ear. Training against three smaller men is Unrak, son of the late Barak, Earle of Trellheim. His long red beard swings as he clobbers the three young men surrounding him. Khaeran coughs loudly, then laughs.

"Ho, there Unrak! What're you doing there?" Unrak turns around in surprise and ends up getting hit over the head with one of the wooden training swords. He blinks a few times, then glares at Khaeran.

"Funny." he replies with heavy sarcasm. The three young men continue to spar against each other, and Unrak wipes sweat off his brow and walks towards the lot of them. He gives a shy smile in Belderan's direction, then averts his eyes in Ryiah's direction.

"Ryiah, what are you doing here with these troublemakers?" She laughs happily and ducks out from under Kheva's arm, then takes up the hem of her dress and climbs the wooden fence and, from a perch on top of the fence, jumps at Unrak in a flying tackle. He does not expect this, and is flung to the ground, where she straddles him and laughs in his face.

"You realise that you just got floored by a hundred pound _girl_ in a _dress_, right?" Unrak grows a bit as she stands up and dusts herself off. Belderan snorts in contempt and grabs hold of Kheva's arm.

"You should act more ladylike, Ryiah. No man would want you if you continue to act like a boy." Everyone goes quiet and looks at her, Unrak going so far as to shoot her a warning glare as he stands up and dusts himself off. Ryiah looks angered for a brief moment, then something obviously funny dawns on her and she starts to laugh happily.

"My apologies, your _Highness_…I really should remember my manners. However, I've had a great many men taking an interest to myself, to which I kindly gave them a thorough tour, if you know what I mean." She winks suggestively at the princess, who grows red with a blush and storms off in disgust. Khaeran and Geran burst out laughing as they finally catch onto what Ryiah had said, and Unrak just smiles and shakes his head. Kheva, however, looks at her with a furrowed brow.

"Ryiah, are you saying you've…" Khaeran slaps his cousin on the back, still chortling, his eyes shiny.

"Kheva, dear cousin, of course she has! Multiple times!" The lot of them laugh at this, even Unrak, but Kheva cannot help but feel that there is something wrong with the picture; like there is something more to it…

**Review, please! What do you think? Long reviews loved!**

**~R**


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